I’m continuing to head south through the western part of Nebraska today as I creep slowly towards the final target of New Mexico. I’m now in the city of Scottsbluff to check out Scotts Bluff National Monument. I didn’t even have this on my original list of points of interest which frankly is an embarrassing oversight, but glad I found it while surfing my maps to find fun things to do.
Looking to the south from the entrance sign above (west), you can get a good view of South Bluff from a distance. Compared to the seas of grass and scrub brush, these towering geologic formations are both a welcome change of scenery and almost look out of place by comparison.
Turning to the north side of the road we can see the formation continues and rises even taller above the plains below. This is Scotts Bluff and will be the focus of today’s trip. Fun fact: The road we are on is Co Hwy K but also labeled as “Old Oregon Trail” – because in fact this is the Old Oregon Trail. (Not pictured here is a big covered wagon parked outside the visitor center because at the time I thought it was just decorations. D’oh!)
The visitor center is relatively small but there are many things to see. Right at the parking lot is a great plaque commemorating the Pony Express.
Back behind the visitor center is a great outdoor ampitheater with spectacular views of the bluff as a backdrop. No films at midday and not much about this online; I wonder if they use this just for kids/field trips? Would be quite an experience to have a gathering for late-night star gazing out here.
Inside the visitor center are various educational displays covering the cutural, natural, and historical details of this area. The “Call of the River” exhibit mainly covers how the North Platte river was significant to the area and westward expansion, and some great details on how the Lakota Sioux lived before settlers arrived.
The strangest part about this place (at least to me) is the name. Why is it called “Scotts Bluff” and who was it named for? Apparently it was for Hiram Scott who worked his way up to being the clerk of the American Fur Company back in 1827. He died in 1828 and the bluff was named for him. Later, in 1847, the Robidoux Trading Post was set up south of the bluffs and became important for travelers to gather supplies and spring water. Later on in the early 1900s, petitions were filed and the location was adopted into the National Park Service in order to protect the history and culture.
Another exhibit titled “A Time Of Change” details westward expansion, settlement, and houses artifacts and stories from that era. Surprisingly it also details some of the extremely dark history of the United States where Native Americans were robbed of their lands by false treaties from our government and the related atrocities committed against their people. Remember the genocide of the Indigenous Peoples the next time someone is chanting “USA! USA!” Fucking embarrassing.
Heading back outdoors, I have to say this monument contains one of the craziest features I have seen yet: an access road where you can drive up to the top of the bluff itself through a fully paved road & tunnels cut into the rock itself as constructed by the CCC in the 1930s. I don’t have any pictures of that as I was concentrated on driving the steep slope safely & navigating other traffic but it is quite the gradient! At the top is a small parking area and some trails (which unfortunately are still a no-go for me due to foot pain, argh).
At the parking area is an educational sign detailing most of what I have already recapped in this post but with more detail. What I myself was unaware of was how close we were to Chimney Rock which wasn’t on my “to-do” list until now. I guess today is Oregon Trail day part 2!
Here’s the view from the parking area of the formations atop Scotts Bluff and a bit of the surrounding valley in the background. Notice the dense fog cover – I’m still not convinced this isn’t smoke from some wildfires, possibly from Canada, but I couldn’t find any more about this in the news with limited internet I had out here. This would follow me for the next couple of days.
Using all the zoom my camera lens has you can still see Chimney Rock in the far distance 23 miles away but just barely. Even with the fog/smoke obscuring the horizon, views up here are magnificent. Would definitely come back here sometime later to hike and explore further. Next stop is Chimney Rock.
1 thought on “Scotts Bluff National Monument”